Gas dehydrator



June 3, 1958 E. J. KOCHER GAS DEHYDRATOR Filed June a, 1956 INVENTOR.

AT TOR/V'E/J'.

United States Patent GAS DEHYDRATOR Erich J. Kocher, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to The Vilter Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporatio of Wisconsin Application June 8, 1956, Serial No. 590,148

6 Claims. (Cl. 18375) The present invention relates generally to improvements in the art of separating liquid from gas, and relates more particularly to improvements in the construction and operation of moisture eliminators or gas dehydrators.

A primary of the invention is to provide an improved moisture eliminating device which is extremely simple and durable in construction and which may be readily assembled in a most expedient manner at exceedingly low cost. 1

Various types of devices have heretofore been proposed for use in removing excess moisture from gas or air as it is circulated along a given path. One such moisture eliminator consists merely in the provision of a device having a series of parallel spaced louvers or corrugated plates coacting to form circuitous passages or channels across the path of air flow. While this type of dehydrator or separator has proven quite satisfactory in removing excess moisture from the air as it passes between the louvers or plates without any appreciable obstruction to the flow thereof, an undesirable amount of time and effort was heretofore necessary in the fabrication and assembly of these devices, and considerable care was required in properly positioning and alining the plates and in retaining the same in position during and subsequent to assembly.

It is accordingly a more specific object of my present invention to provide an improved moisture eliminating device of the louvered or corrugated fin type which obviates 'the disadvantages and objections heretofore attendant prior devices of this type.

Another specific object of thisinven tion is to provide an improved gas dehydrator or moisture eliminator of the spaced corrugated louver type which is of unitary construction and which is extremely flexible in its adaptations.

Still another specific object of the invention is to provide an air or gas dehydrating unit of the type described which is composed of relatively few parts, all of which may be readily produced from available materials and which'may be quickly and accurately assembled by a novice without need for special equipment or tools.

A further specific object of my present invention is to provide an improved excess moisture separator of the louvered or corrugated plate type in which the passage forming plates may be positively positioned in spaced series in an exceedingly rapid manner and without any need whatsoever for anchoring or attaching the same to prevent displacement thereof.

An additional specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved gas dehydrator comprising, a series of parallel corrugated plates coacting to form circuitous passages, an end wall member having a web and spaced flanges projecting therefrom and coacting with the opposite side edges of the plates at an end thereof, and a series of spacer elements having flanges interposed between the plate ends and having other nators embodying the invention, may be had by refer-- ring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of the present specification wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a typical evaporative condenser 7 having a pair of the improved moisture eliminating units embodied. therein;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the evaporative condenser and showing the moisture eliminators utilized therewith; and

Fig. 3 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary perspective view of one of the improved moisture eliminating units while being assembled, a portion of the end wall flange being broken away to more clearly reveal normally concealed structure.

While the present invention has been shown and described herein as being particularly applicable for use in an evaporative condenser for removing water from the air passing therethrough, it should be understood that it is not desired or intended to unnecessarily limit or restrict the improvement by reason of such specific embodiment, since it is obvious that the improved dehydrators may be utilized to advantage in other apparatus wherein it is desired to remove any type of liquid from air or gas as it is circulated-along a given path. It is also contemplated that certain specific descriptive terms used herein shall be given the broadest possible interpretation consistent with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawing and particularly Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the improved gas dehydrator has been shown as embodied in a typical evaporative condenser wherein it is desired to remove excess moisture from the air as it leaves the unit. In the illustration, the evaporative condenser comprises, in general, a casing 5 enclosed at the sides, ends and bottom but open at the top, and having a coil 6 circuitously arranged therein, the coil having an upper inlet 7, for the reception of hot gases from the compressor which are to be circulated through the coil 6 and condensed therein, the coil 6 also having a lower outlet 8 for the liquid condensed in the coil and adapted to be returned to the receiver, not shown. To cool the hot gases circulating through the coil 6, airis blown into thecasing 5 and about the coil 6 by means of a blower 9 driven by a suitable motor 10, the air being additionally cooled duringits passage through the casing by means of cooling water pumped from the bottom of the casing 5 through liquid conduits 11, 12 by'nieans of a suitable pump 13, the cooling liquid being sprayed into the top of the casing by way of a spray header 14-. As the air is thus forced into and through the casing 5 about the coil 6, it naturally entrains a certain amount of moisture sprayed into the casing by means of the spray header 14 and carries this excess moistureupwardly to the open end' of the casing where it is to be removedby the moisture eliminators 0r dehydrators 1S hereinafter more fully described.

As shown in Fig. 3, each of the improved moisture eliminator or gas dehydrator units constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises, in general, a series of similar elongated parallel plates or louvers 17 having longitudinal corrugations 18 coacting to form circuitous or undulated open transverse passages 19 through the series, a transversely U-shaped end wall member or channel bar 20 having a web 21 and. a pair of spaced flanges 22 coacting with the opposite side edges of the plates or louvers 17 at an end thereof, the other. end of the series of plates or louvers 17 being likewise provided with a similar end .wall or channel bar 20, a series of spacer elements 23 each in the form of an L-shaped member or angle bar and each having one of its flanges 24 interposed between corresponding ends of adjacent ones of the plates 17 and having its other flange. 25 interposed between the adjacent end wall web 21 and the extreme end of its adjacentplate 17, and means such as a rigid beam or bar. 26 interconnecting the endwall members 20 independently of and beyond.

the end plate 17 of the series. The units 15 when in use, are normally disposed, asin Figs. 1 and 2, with the channel bars 20 disposed horizontally and spanning the open top of the casing However, in order to facilitate assembly of each of the improved dehyrdator units, the opposite end walls 20 in the form of channel bars are first disposed upright and united at one end by a suitable beam 26 which may be secured to the lower end of each channel bar 20 asby means of welding or the like, as depicted in Fig. 3. The first of the corrugated plates or louvers 17 may then be positioned upon the beam 26 between the flanges 22 of the channel bar 20, and these plates are slightly less in length than the distance between the webs 21 of the opposed end wall channel bars. Thereafter, one of the spacer members 23 may be positioned with the flange 24 thereof seated upon the high points of the positioned plate 17 and with the flange 25 thereof interposed between the extreme end of the plate 17 and the web 21. of the channel bar 20'. With one of the spacer elements 23 thus positioned at each end of the first plate 17, the next plate 17 is positioned in like manner on the flanges 24 of the opposed spacers 23, and additional spacers are then positioned in like manner at the opposite ends of the plate 17 with subsequent plates and spacers being disposed in like manner until the desired number of passages 19 have been provided by the series of corrugated plates 17. Finally, after the unit has been thus built up to the desired size, a second beam 26, not shown, may be secured at its opposite ends to the opposite end wall channel bar members 20 as already described.

In actual use, one or more of the moisture eliminating or gas. dehydrating units may be positioned transversely across the. air passage as shown in the typical example of Figs. 1 and 2 so that the air to be dehydrated will necessarily pass through the circuitous passages 19 where the upright excessmoisture entrained in or carried by the air or gas will gather on the several plates 17 and will then drip from the lower longitudinal edges of these plates back into the casing 5.

From the foregoing detailed description, it is believed apparent that the present invention contemplates the provision of a unitary gas dehydrator or moisture eliminator which is extremely simple in construction, and which may be readily assembled with minimum efiort at low cost. The construction of the improved units is such that the several plates 17 are properly and accurately positioned and retained in position without need for mechanically uniting the same either to adjacent plates or to the end walls 20, and by reason of the elimination of all welding or other mechanical attaching means in assembling the several plates 17, the fabrication of the units is obviously expedited. Furthermore, the end walls 20 and beams 26 may be formed of available channel bar stock while the spacer elements 23"may also be readily formed of available angle iron stock, and the several corrugated plates or louvers 17 may, of course, be formed of any suitable plate material. It will be noted that the flanges 24 of the several spacers 23v coact with adjacent plates 17 to properly position the same with respect to each other, and these spacers 23. are retained. in position against displacement by reason of the flanges 25 which are interposed between the ends of the respective plates 17 and web 21 of each end wall 20. Likewise, both the spacer members 23 and the plates 17 are prevented from sidewise displacement by reason of the flanges 22 of each of the end walls 20. As indicated, the improved units may be made of any desired size with any number of channels 19 being provided, and these units may be readily adapted for use wherever it is desired to eliminate or reduce the moisturecontent of air or gas circulating along a given path.

It should, of course, be understood that itis not desired or intended to limit this invention to the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of use herein shown and described, since various modificationswithin the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

I claim:

1. A gas dehydrator comprising, a series of longitudinally corrugated plates cooperating to form undulated open passages, extending transversely through the series,

a member having a web extending across but spaced from the extreme ends of said plates and having flanges at its opposite sides coacting with the adjacent side edges of said plates at the ends of said passages to prevent lateral displacement of the plates, and a series of elements spanning the space between said member flanges and having positioning flanges of approximately the same depth as that of the adjacent plate corrugations interposed in the spaces between said plate ends and member Webs and also having spacer flanges extending away from said web between said plate ends to maintain the plates in spaced relation, the successive positioning flanges of said element series engaging-each other.

2. A gas dehydrator comprising, a series of longitudinally corrugated plates cooperating to form undulated open passages extending transversely through the series, a pair of members each having a web extending across but spaced from the adjacent. extreme ends of said plates and also having flanges at its opposite sides extending toward the other member and coacting with the adjacent side edges of said plates at the ends of said passages to prevent lateral displacement of the plates, a series of elements at each end of the plate series each spanning the space between the flanges of the adjacent member and each having a positioning flange of approximately the same depth as that of the adjacent plate corrugations interposed in the spaces between the adjacent plate ends and member web and each also having a spacer flange extending away from the adjacent member web between the corresponding plate ends to maintain the plates in spaced relation, the successive positioning. flanges of each series. of elements engaging each other, and means rigidly uniting said. members to. hold said plates and said elements in assembled condition.

3. A gas dehydrator comprising, a series of longitudinally corrugated plates cooperating to form undulated open passages extending transversely through the series, a channel bar having a webextending across but spaced from the extreme ends of said plates and provided with integral flanges at its opposite sides coacting with the adjacent side edges of said plates at the ends of said passages to prevent lateral displacement of the plates, and a series of angle bars spanning the space between said channel flanges and each having a positioning flange of approximately the, same depth as that of the adjacent plate corrugations interposed in. the spaces between said plate ends and channel web and each also having an integral spacer flange extending away from said web between said plate ends. to maintain the plates in spaced relation, the successive positioning flanges of said angle bar series edgewise engaging each other.

4. A gas dehydrator comprising, aseries of longitudinally corrugated plates cooperating to form undulated open passages extending transversely through the series, a pair of channel bars each having a web extending across but spaced from the adjacent extreme ends of all of said plates and each being provided with flanges at its opposite sides extending toward the other channel bar and coacting with the adjacent side edges of said plates at the ends of said passages to prevent lateral displacement of the plates, a series of angle bars at each end of the plate series each spanning the space between the flanges of the adjacent channel bar and each having a positioning flange of approximately the same depth as that of the adjacent plate corrugations interposed in the spaces between the adjacent plate ends and channel web and each also having a spacer flange extending away from the adjacent channel web between the corresponding plate ends to maintain the plates in spaced relation, the successive positioning flanges of each series of angle bars edgewise engaging each other, and a rigid beam uniting said channel bars to hold said plates and saidangle bars in assembled condition.

5. A gas dehydrator unit comprising, an upright series of longitudinally corrugated superimposed horizontal plates cooperating to form undulated open passages extending transversely through the series, an upright channel bar having a web extending across but spaced from the extreme ends of said plates and provided with integral flanges at its opposite sides coacting with the adjacent side edges of said plates at the ends of said passages to prevent lateral displacement of the plates, and an upright series of angle bars spanning the space between said channel flanges and having positioning flanges of approximately the same depth as that of the adjacent plate corrugations interposed in the spaces between said plate ends and channel web and each also having spacer flanges extending away from said web between said plate ends to maintain the plates in spaced relation, the successive positioning flanges of said element series being stacked upon and engaging each other.

6. A gas dehydrator unit comprising, an upright series of longitudinally corrugated superimposed horizontal plates cooperating to form nndulated open passages extending transversely through the series, a pair of upright channel bars each having a web extending across but spaced from the adjacent extreme ends of said plates and also having flanges at its opposite sides extending toward the other channel bar and coacting with the adjacent side edges of said plates at the ends of said passages to prevent lateral displacement of the plates, an upright series of angle bars at each end ofthe plate series each spanning the space between the flanges of the adjacent channel bar and each having a positioning flange of approximately the same depth as that of the adjacent plate corrugations interposed in the spaces between the adjacent plate ends and channel web and each also having a spacer flange extending away from the adjacent channel web between the corresponding plate ends to maintain the plates in spaced relation, the successive positioning flanges of each series of elements being stacked edgewise upon and engaging each other, and a horizontal beam rigidly uniting the lower ends of said channel bars to hold said plates and said angle bars in assembled condition.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 718,805 Watts Jan. 20, 1903 760,674 Winand May 24, 1904 1,402,147 Day Jan. 3, 1922 2,130,806 Link Sept. 20, 1938 2,210,023 Candor Aug. 6, 1940 2,252,242 Wood Aug. 12, 1941 2,720,938 Cates Oct. 18, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,609 Great Britain Aug. 27, 1914 106,083 Austria Apr. 11, 1927 

